KAIST researchers develop an auxetic-based stretchable display platform

Researchers at KAIST developed an auxetic-based stretchable display platform, that expand in both width and length when pulled. Such a design could be used to enable a display that stretches in a uniform way at the same ratio in all directions.

The new design uses computational analysis to selectively connect only the necessary points that ensure isotropic expansion throughout the substrate, unlike standard methods that bond the auxetic structure and the stretchable substrate across the entire surface.

The researchers explain, that in the conventional approach, the twisting deformation that occurs as the auxetic structure stretches is directly transferred to the substrate, distorting the image inside the screen. In contrast, the platform developed by the research team was designed so that each region moves evenly outward from its original position. This allows not only the entire screen but also small areas such as letters and images to expand together while maintaining their original shapes.